Object Management Group
Framingham Corporate Center
492 Old Connecticut Path
Framingham, MA  01701-4568 USA

info@omg.org     http://www.omg.org
Tel: +1-508-820 4300     Fax: +1-508-820 4303

CORBAmed RFI [X]
Encounter Management (EM)
Request for Information
Revision B
Submissions Due: XX

OMG Document # corbamed/98-05-02 
June 18, 1998

1. Introduction
This Request for Information (RFI) solicits information about requirements that will provide guidance to the CORBAmed Domain Task Force (DTF) of the Object Management Group (OMG) in the area of Clinical Encounters. The overall goal of CORBAmed is to adopt vendor-neutral common interfaces that may improve the quality of care and reduce costs. CORBAmed DTF will utilize the OMG’s open technology adoption process to standardize interfaces in the healthcare arena.
The OMG encourages users, standards developers, consultants, systems integrators, and developers of  healthcare related devices, instruments, applications, and systems to become involved with this process by responding to this RFI. OMG members and non-members may submit responses. Current compliance with OMG specifications is not a prerequisite for response to this RFI. The RFI response can consist of pre-existing product documentation.

Encounter Management (EM) is the collection and management of person encounters information to support the activities of a care provider.  Today this information sits in many places in various degrees of completion and accuracy. 
The purpose of this RFI will request information on what’s being done in the encounter information collection process, in particular to streamline the process.
1.1 Context and Scope
OMG’s central mission is to establish an architecture and set of specifications to enable distributed integrated applications. Primary goals are the reusability, portability and interoperability of object-oriented software components in distributed heterogeneous computing environments. Much of OMG’s efforts have been focused on establishing an enabling infrastructure based on open and standard interface definitions.  The OMG is now standardizing common interfaces in vertical application domains. CORBAmed DTF issued its first RFI in January 1996 (OMG document number corbamed/96-01-01). This RFI had a wide scope including clinical, pharmacy, and insurance. It requested general guidance in the process of developing standard specifications for healthcare objects.  From the responses to that RFI and other considerations by the task force the top few priorities were determined. They included Patient Identification (including Master Patient Index ) issues, security/confidentiality issues, lexicon/vocabulary issues, and Computerized Patient Record (CPR) issues. 
CORBAmed has issued a Patient Identification Service (PIDS) RFP to address some of the key interfaces needed by MPIs as well as patient identification by ancillary systems.  This has resulted in an adopted specification (corbamed/98-02-29).  A Lexicon Query Service (LQS) RFP (corbamed/97-01-04) was issued to standardize a common interface to vocabularies and lexicons with out standardizing the lexicon content.  Technology adoption vote is underway.  CORBAmed’s Security Work Group (WG) has issued a Healthcare Security Framework RFPaddressing the security and confidentiality issues for healthcare. CORBAmed has also issued an RFP for clinical observation access (COAS) (corbamed/97-12-28).

Person level information is part of EM.  It is demographics, eligibility and clinical information.  EM needs to capture, have access to reliable demographics information and the ability to detect when demographics information is outdated.   With this knowledge, clerks won’t need to ask repetitive or unnecessary questions.  

EM needs to include eligibility information and up-to-date information to make sure the encounter is covered and any follow-up procedures or treatments are paid for.  

EM needs to have access to person clinical information so that activity downstream has sufficient information to guarantee the best and proper care is provided.  Look at demographics, eligibility and clinical information as information at the person level.  IT MOST LIKELY DOES NOT CHANGE FROM ENCOUNTER TO ENCOUNTER.

Encounter Management’s primary task is to capture and manage information relevant to the encounter.  This information includes next of kin, advanced directives, provider information (primary, attending, consulting) and VIP status to name a few.  THIS INFORMATION MOST LIKELY CHANGES FROM ENCOUNTER TO ENCOUNTER.

CORBAmed intends to use the responses to this RFI in the following manners:
•	To contribute to the development of the CHST 
•	To develop an understanding of clinical processes and types of clinical systems to which Encounter Management might apply.
2. Information Being Requested
This RFI is seeking information in the areas described below.  Respondents are asked only to address those areas for which they have expertise and/or interest.  Please consider the purpose of this RFI when responding so your time is spent on issues that will be helpful to reviewers.
Interactions
The following services may interact with EM:
•	Person Identification Service
•	Lexicon Query Service
•	Clinical Observation Access Service
•	Security – controlling access to encounter management information
•	Scheduling – depending on ambulatory, acute, home or outpatient context
•	Location – to track a person while receiving care

The EM RFI will not necessarily lead to RFPs.  The purpose of the RFI is to elicit knowledge about the domain of Encounter Management so that the responses can feed into the development of the CHST.  CORBAmed will then identify the need for a series of RFPs to meet the requirements of an EM service.

In order to gain a broad based understanding of the approaches which have been used, or are under consideration, CORBAmed is issuing this Request for Information to the broader community of healthcare providers, payers, vendors, and other interested parties. CORBAmed is looking for information in the following broad areas. These are not meant to be all-inclusive, but are intended to provide some insights into the type of information this RFI seeks from responders.

The response may include: 
•	A description of those items that do and those that do not vary from encounter to encounter.
•	Any object model examples of encounter data
•	Any issues that may arise from management of encounters in a distributed environment 
3. Instructions for Responding to this RFI
Companies responding to this RFI shall designate a single contact within that company for receipt of all subsequent information regarding this RFI. The name of this contact will be made available to all OMG members. Documentation submitted in response to this RFI will be available to all OMG members.
3.1 Format of RFI Responses
Although the OMG does not limit the size of responses, you are asked to consider that the OMG will rely upon volunteer resources with limited time availability to review these responses. In order to assure that your response receives the attention it deserves, you are asked to consider limiting the size of your response (not counting any supporting documentation) to approximately 25 pages.  Much smaller responses are welcome as well.
If you consider supporting documentation to be necessary, please indicate which portions of the supporting documentation are relevant to this RFI.
NOTE: According to the Policies and Procedures of the OMG Technical Committee, proprietary and confidential material may not be included in any response to the OMG. Responses become public documents of the OMG. If copyrighted, a statement waiving that copyright for use by the OMG is required and a limited waiver of copyright that allows OMG members to make up to at least twenty-five copies for review purposes is required.
3.2 How to Submit
OMG requests that 50 paper copies of the response, one copy in a common machine-readable format (typically ASCII, RTF, MIF, PDF), and any supporting documentation to be sent to the Technology Desk at the OMG.  Responses to this RFI (and other communication regarding this RFI or related RFPs in the future) should be addressed to:

CORBAmed Technology Desk
Object Management Group Inc.
Framingham Corporate Center
492 Old Connecticut Path
Framingham, MA 01701-4568
USA
Phone: +1-508-820 4300
Fax: +1-508-820 4303
Email: corbamed@omg.org
Web: http://www.omg.org

Responses to this RFI must be received at OMG no later than 5:00 PM US Eastern Time (22:00 GMT) January 9, 1998.  The outside of packages/envelopes containing submissions or any other communication regarding this RFI should be clearly marked 

“CORBAmed  RFI [x] RESPONSE”
NOTE: Your organization should be prepared to handle requests for additional copies of your response and should be prepared to handle requests for additional copies of supporting documentation.
3.3 Reimbursements
The OMG will not reimburse submitters for any costs in conjunction with their responses to this RFI.
4. Response Review Process and Schedule
Responses to this RFI are to be reviewed for the following express intention: providing OMG with technical information and guidance in writing the forthcoming RFP(s). Responders are asked to attend the RFI response review meeting(s) and to present their response to the CORBAmed DTF.
4.1 Schedule
The schedule for responding to this RFI is as follows. Please note that early responses are encouraged.
TF recommends issuing the RFI					April 2, 1998RFI issued 							April 3, 1998
RFI responses due 						 XX
NOTE: This schedule is subject to change based on the number of RFI responses received and the information acquired from the responses.

4.2 Clarification of Responses
To fully comprehend the information contained within a response to this RFI, the reviewing group may seek further clarification on that response. This clarification may come in the form of verbal communication over the telephone; written communication; electronic communication; or a request to make a presentation of the response.  CORBAmed requests that submitters attend the meeting following the RFI deadline to present their responses.

Appendix A: Background on the Object Management Group and CORBAmed
OMG is dedicated to producing a framework and specifications for commercially available object-oriented environments. The Object Management Architecture (OMA) Guide, published in 1990 (revised 1995), provides an architecture with terms and definitions upon which all supporting interface specifications are to be based. Part of this architecture is the Reference Model which identifies and characterizes the components, interfaces, and protocols that compose the OMA.
For More Information:
More information on the Object Management Group can be obtained via the Internet at:
WWW Homepage 	http://www.omg.org/
OMG provides a document server.  Send e-mail to server@omg.org with a message body:
help
get docs/doclist.txt
References:
Object Management Architecture Guide  (OMA Guide),  Object Management Group, September 1995.
Common Object Request Broker Architecture and Specification  (CORBA), Revision 2, Object Management Group, August 1995.
CORBAservices,  Object Management Group, March  31, 1995, OMG TC Document 95-3-31.
CORBAsfacilities,  Object Management Group, to appear late 1995. (Interim OMG TC Doc# 95-1-2)
HL7 Web site- www.mcis.duke.edu/standards/HL7/hl7.htm